Holly Madison Says Living In The Playboy Mansion Made Her Crazy Insecure

Sept. 5, 2009 — -- Of all the bunnies in the Playboy mansion, Holly Madison reigned supreme through most of the 2000s.

Everyone's favorite "Girl Next Door" and "Dancing with the Stars" contestant was Hugh Hefner's primary girlfriend for six years, and many speculate that she broke his heart when they broke up, she moved out and then started dating Criss Angel soon after. But in the latest issue of Life & Style magazine, Holly reveals that she was always insecure about her looks -- and that her insecurities shot to a whole new level when she started dating Hef.

Hence, that was when she opted for plastic surgery. She says she was sensitive about her smallish chest ("I always stuffed my bra. In fact, I had a boyfriend for years, and we moved so slowly. We didn't have sex for a long time because I had to gradually bring down my bra size so he wouldn't find out"), but didn't decide to get implants until after she moved into the mansion in 2001. In 2003, she had her nose done because "it photographed really big in front of my face. If I wanted to do anything in the entertainment industry, I needed to get it fixed."

This quote really sticks out to me: "Living with Hef brought down my self-esteem a lot. I was comparing myself to the other girls…You have to look a certain way at the mansion." [Life & Style via NY Daily News]

I guess that's my big beef with plastic surgery -- that it makes everyone look that "certain way." In other words, it eliminates differences. Why are so many people trying to get the same nose, the same pouty lips, and the same boobs that bear very little resemblance to actual breasts? (Seriously, it's like the difference between peaches and canned peaches.) If we all could just deal with and even (gasp) like our differences rather than trying to fix them, this whole industry would collapse and we'd all be a lot more happy with ourselves as a result.

OK, I guess I have other issues with plastic surgery, too. Mainly that it's surgery people choose to undergo voluntarily, that it becomes an addiction for many women, and that there's the whole issue of what are you going to do if you ever have a daughter and she has the same honker you thought was so terrible you went under the knife to fix? But to me the biggest ad against it is the before and after photos of Holly here. Before she was the uber-hot blonde on the right, she was the ... hot blonde on the left. (Though, I will say that I'm not buying that she doesn't have implants in that photo unless that's a really good push-up bra.) Did she really need to change anything?

So what do you think? Are you pro or anti plastic surgery? Do you think it helps build people's self-esteem or make it worse by making our bodies and faces "fixable"?